Card-holder for voting-machines.



E, MATTOON.

CARD HOLDER FOB VOTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 27, 1908.

946,062, :Patented Jan. 11, 1910.

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EDWARD MATTOON, OF SUPERIOR, WISCONSIN.

CARD-HOLDER FOR VOTING-MACHINES.

Application filed November 27, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD MATTooN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Superior, in the county of Douglas, State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Card-Holders for Voting-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to voting machines, and has special reference to an improved form of combined crank handle and card holder for use with machines of the type in which a rotating member is used to set the machine for registration.

One object of the invention is to combine a card holder and crank handle in such a way as to render the substitution of one card for another a very difficult matter.

Another object of the invention is to improve the structure of the card holder to prevent tampering with the cards therein contained.

ith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists, in general, of a novel form of crank handle in which is embodied a novel card holder.

The invention further consists in certain novel arrangements of details and combina tions of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and specifically set forth in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several views, and :-Figure 1 is a front elevation of a crank handle constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

The numeral 10 indicates the boss of a crank handle and is provided with a recess 11 for the purpose of attaching the same to one of the rotating setting members. Rigidly attached to this boss is a crank arm 12 provided with a flange 13 around the bottom and partly up two sides thereof. This flange has a peripheral inturned portion 14 and a bar 15 provided with hinged members 16 extends across the top. The inturned portion 14 and the bar 15 thus form a frame Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 11, 1910.

Serial No. 464,601.

in which is held a glass or other transparent covering 17 behind which lies a card 18 suitably inscribed with the name of one of the parties or candidates. [t will thus be seen that the inturned portion of the flange 13 is in spaced relation to the back 12 of the crank arm and that the crank arm is utilized as a card holder. The back 12 extends above the hinge members 16 and a hinged flap 19 is connected to these hinged members by members 20, the whole forming a hinge of the type commonly called a piano hinge. The back 12 is provided with a screw threaded aperture 21 and the flap 19 is similarly provided with an aperture 22 through which a screw 23 is passed to engage the screw threaded aperture 21, the apertures 21 and 22 being in alinement when the flap is closed as shown in Fig. 3. Suitably attached to the flange 13 is an operating or turning handle 24. This device is calculated to prevent surreptitious interference with the cards. This is true by reason of the fact that even if the hinged flaps be unscrewed and opened it is impossible to extract the cards therefrom without overturning the card holder, and in order to do this it is necessary to throw the operating lever. Now, as is usual in machines of this class, when one operating lever is thrown the remainder of the levers are locked by the interlocking mechanism. It is thus impossible to throw two of the levers at the same time and exchange the cards contained in the card holder.

The device is thus simple in construction and etlicient in operation and effectually prevents fraudulent and unscrupulous tampering with the cards contained'in the holder.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material principles thereof. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the same to the exact form herein shown and described but it is wished to include all such as properly come within the scope thereof.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

In a device of the kind described, the combination with a crank hub and handle; of a crank arm comprising a card receiving element provided with a back, said card In testimony whereof, I aifix my signarecelvlng element being further provided ture, in presence of two wltnesses. with a face and card holdlng frame fixed to r T and covering the lower part of said back, MATIOOL' a closure hinged to said frame covering the Witnesses:

remainder of the back, and means to hold CHRIS LANGE,

the closure in closed position. N. K. RAsMUssEN. 

